Paige's Discoveries
by nine miles to go
Summary: 13-year-old Paige just moved to Cali, starting at a new Junior High--sure, you'd expect that to be a bit challenging, but she realizes something that explains why her mentor, Phoebe, is so familiar--and everything starts to change.
1. Mentoring with my Twin

A/N—okay, I know that another author just made a story like this, but she's my best friend—I'm not copying her! We both just had the idea for the same story but she (grumble) posted first. Lol, it's kind of funny! Great minds think alike? Yah, that's it! Oh well, just read!  
  
"I tried to call you last night," I assure her. "C'mon, Taylor, you know I didn't just blow you off. I'm busy. Besides, whenever you expect me to call, it's like, right after school. I'm usually doing homework or fending off the new neighbor kids. Cut me a little slack, alright?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," Taylor scoffs at the other end of the phone, "like it's MY fault that the time zones are so screwy. You were the one that moved, not me. It's your problem if there's a three hour time dif in Cali, not mine."  
  
I roll my eyes, grateful that she couldn't see my face. These little conversations we have every night aren't very enjoyable anymore. She's always blaming me for moving away from Virginia, when it's not my fault that my dad got a job change, it's his stupid bosses'.  
  
"Hey, Paige, are you there or what? Paige?"  
  
"Oh, um, sorry," I apologize, picking the seams loose at the end of my sock in boredom. "So...how are things at our school?"  
  
"You mean MY school. You go to a new school, remember?" she snaps. "Anyways, everybody's, like, forgotten you or something. Even that what's- his-name you had a crush on doesn't remember you. It's kinda sad. I'm the only one who talks about you now."  
  
"Stop rubbing it in," I say crossly. "You're not being all that nice. Look, I gotta go," I lied, "my mom wants the cell phone."  
  
"Aw, alright," Taylor grumbles, as if she really just can't wait to get off the phone like me. "Too bad. Call me tomorrow, seriously. I don't care if your mom wants you to go do homework, live with it. I mean, she's not even your real mom."  
  
"You know what, Taylor? Good-BYE." I slam down the phone and feel partially satisfied by the loud banging noise that it makes. God, she can be such a little bitch sometimes! It's already hard enough to be moving from everything I ever knew, but seriously, I don't need her bugging me.  
  
She's right, though, I know it. My parents are my adoptive parents, but that doesn't mean I love them any less then I would love my real ones. That's the problem, though. My parents died when I was a baby, I never knew them. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if they hadn't died...but I don't really care. All I know is their names: Sam Matthews and Patty Halliwell. I kept my father's last name, I don't know why. Maybe since it makes me feel as if...I dunno, maybe I can find him someday.  
  
"Honey," my mom calls from the kitchen when she hears me come down the stairs. "You all ready for your first day at your new school tomorrow?"  
  
I fake a smile. "Of course, mom," I respond cheerily. "But I still don't know anything about the school, like my schedule, the kids, the teachers...the name of the place..."  
  
"It's called Tackatum Middle School," she explains. "And don't worry about the schedule. Apparently there's a program in the school board called 'mentoring' that has an older kid take you around to your classes for the first week or two. She's a ninth grader, only two years older than you."  
  
"Oh, great," I laugh, "now I'm gonna be treated like a total baby. Who's 'mentoring' me tomorrow? Any piercing? Tattoos? C'mon, mom, I can handle myself."  
  
"Let me see." My mom starts leafing through a file that she keeps for all my old schools and the one I'm at now. "Her name is...Phoebe Halliwell."  
  
"That's the same name as..." I shake my head, not wanting to upset my mother by mentioning my birth mom. Not that she'd get really mad, but I can tell that she doesn't appreciate it. "Well, I guess I'll meet her tomorrow outside the school gates. Got any idea what she looks like?"  
  
"Sure, here's a picture of her. Cute, isn't she? Maybe you guys could hang out a lot! I'll take pictures!" She slid a photograph across the table, handing it to me.  
  
At first all I can do was gawk at the girl into photograph. When I look at her, I see my eyes, my smile. I shudder in shock, immediately shoving the photo back into the file. That girl looks like my clone with longer black hair than mine.  
  
"What?" my mom questions me. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," I insist, picking up some of the binders I'm taking to school tomorrow. "I'm going up to my room to get a jump on things, you know? Don't want to be disorganized or anything."  
  
"Do you need the picture of Phoebe to recognize her?"  
  
I almost laugh. Couldn't she see we were basically fraternal twins? I could just look in the mirror to see who it was, she had my face!  
  
"No, thank you," I stifle back a snicker. "That's okay, I'll manage."  
  
"Alright."  
  
I go back upstairs and stare at the wall. This life totally sucks. Ever since I'd moved here I'd been mauled by the neighbor's eight kids at least a dozen times, tripped off the porch steps in front of the hottie across the street named Martin, and trespassed at the park by accident. Everybody thinks I'm this terrible rebel criminal, but it seemed to amuse Martin, so it can't be all bad.  
  
Eventually I slip into a very early sleep, dreaming of clones...so many clones...they were everywhere. Martin was there. "Paige," he kept saying, "which one is you? I don't know which one will trip off the steps." I'd blush and trip on the porch step, which would come from beneath me out of nowhere. He'd laugh...always laughing...why wouldn't it stop?  
  
In the morning I wake up drenched in sweat, only to find that it was already light outside. I jump up and stare at the alarm clock: 6:45am. Damn it! I'm late!  
  
"Mom!" I scream down the stairs, pulling on my socks, toast in my mouth and backpack slung over one of my shoulders. "Why didn't you wake me up?! I'm totally late, it's time for school in, like, a half hour, and I'm not ready!"  
  
"Honey, calm down. It only takes a five minute drive," she reassures me. "You have plenty of time. Don't worry. It's all under control."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," I repeat, jittery. "Okay then, let's go already! That mentor person of mine's gonna get so totally angry with me!" I swallow the remains of the toast and manage to tie my shoes, backpack finally adjusted. "Come ON."  
  
My mom rolls her eyes, grabbing her keys and opening the front door. "Alright, Paige," she sighs. "You're gonna be lucky if you haven't waken up the whole neighborhood by now. Speaking of which, where's that boy you—"  
  
"SHHH!" I demand, looking out through the window. Martin's running out the door in his jeans and brown shirt, his book bag swaying carelessly at his legs. The sun cracks through the maple tree and shines on his brown hair, and I feel like I'm melting...then I realize that my mom is gawking at me quite questionably.  
  
"What?" I ask her, annoyed. "I just think that you're being too loud. I mean, we don't want those little kids next door to wake up yet, do we?"  
  
She smiles this I'm-your-mother-don't-try-to-fool-me grin and I flinch. I HATE it when she does that, it makes me want to scream! What does SHE know about the guys I like? Besides, here, I have this clean, new state. No one knows me, so I have a good chance of getting through to Martin. He doesn't know my faults, and I'm prepared to hide them at all costs.  
  
Suddenly he looks up at me hovering at the front steps and smiles. "Hey, Paige!" he calls out. "You going to school?"  
  
I nod, then realize how stupid that is. He's all the way across the street—he can't see me! "Uh, yeah!" I call back. "First day! See ya there!"  
  
"Oh, good luck!" he opens the back door to his mom's car and I feel like shrieking with happiness as he drives away. So hot, so hot, so hot...  
  
It takes a little less time to get to school then I thought it would. It turns out I got there before my clone—excuse me, "mentor"—showed up. I take the opportunity while standing at the gate to survey the school. It looks normal enough, I guess. Some of it looks as if it's been renewed. Half the walls are made of stone, like medieval times or something, only with a lot of graffiti. The rest is a bright red brick, like the kinds you see on a thank-you note to a teacher. Yuck.  
  
"Hey, you!" shouts a voice coming up the side walk. I turn to find the voice, but can't.  
  
"Are you Paige Matthews?"  
  
Ah, my clone. Here she is in the flesh. She looks a lot more like me in real life then she did in the photo, which really freaks me out. She seems to notice it, too; I can see her approaching me hesitantly, know who I am but at the same time feeling a little baffled about our similarity.  
  
I grin and wave at her. "Yeah. You're Phoebe Halliwell, right?" She nods, and I nod back, acting cool. "Nice to meet you. So...I guess you're gonna show me around the school? No offense or anything, but I think I know which ways to go—"  
  
Phoebe snorts. "Try explaining THAT to the school's vice principal. SHE signed me up for this in the first place." She sees my hurt look and quickly adds, "But I think we're gonna have fun, don't you?"  
  
"Mm-hm," I reply.  
  
Now that she's closer, I see that she's wearing dark make-up. A lot of it. Come to think of it, she's all dressed in black, too. 'Great, my mentor's a gothic-punk,' I think as I see the plastic chains hanging from her jeans. 'At least she's nice enough.'  
  
"So, I have your schedule right here." Phoebe fumbles around her pockets. "Now, where did I put it? Give me a sec...Ah!" I cringe as she pulls out a tattered, crumpled piece of paper. She holds it up to the sun and stares at it as if that'll fix the illegibility. "Well, I think your first class is PE. It could be physics, though...Nope, PE. Mrs. Costa is the sevvie PE teacher."  
  
"'Sevvie?'" I question incredulously.  
  
"Oh, you know. Slang for seventh graders. I remember when they used to throw wads of paper at us when I was a sevvie...and then there were the horrors of Sevvie Bop Day." She shuddered.  
  
I gawked at her. "Sevvie Bop Day?" I stutter. I don't know what it is, but it doesn't sound too good.  
  
"Don't worry. It was the first Friday we got back from summer vacation, it's over now. All that happens is the ninth and eighth graders bopping the sevvies on the head, no biggie. What sucks, though, is the faculty found out about it this year and banned it, so I didn't get to bop any sevvies. I got bopped when I was your age! It's not fair..." she grumbled. "Well, I guess I'm not comforting you, am I? You'll be fine. No sweat."  
  
"Right." By this time we've gotten to the school. The front of the school, luckily, is made of those bricks too bright for my eyes instead of the nasty graffiti.  
  
I see boys walk past, surveying me. I blush. At my old school, nobody noticed me. They must be pretty desperate to check me out of all people.  
  
"Yo, Piper!" Phoebe called out to one of the cars. The car rolled down the window and I see a college girl with light brown hair. "Pick me up after school, okay? I don't wanna take that smelly old bus again!"  
  
Piper rolls her eyes. "Yeah, sure, my queen," she laughs. "Who's your new friend?" She gestures towards me.  
  
"Oh, this is Paige. Paige Matthews. She's new to the school today, I'm mentoring her." Phoebe turns to me. "That's my big sis, Piper. She can be REALLY scary and neurotic at times, so ignore her if you feel so inclined—as I do constantly."  
  
Piper made a fake growl, parking her car in the carpool lane. "Maybe Paige will be your first 'normal' friend, huh?" She flashed me a grin. "Keep her in line for me, okay?"  
  
I nod, wishing that I had a sister to tease like that.  
  
Piper starts rolling up her window. "See ya at the Kiss & Ride, then!"  
  
Phoebe rolls her eyes. "WHY does she ALWAYS have to make fun of me? The other kids could HEAR..."  
  
"Kiss & Ride? What's that?"  
  
"You know, where the loser kids get picked up and dropped off. It's considered weird or something if you take the Kiss & Ride. Luckily it hasn't quite damaged my rep yet, but with PIPER on my tail, you never can guess what'll happen."  
  
"At my old school we called it carpool," I tell her, wondering what her 'rep' is all about but too afraid to ask at this point. "Kiss & Ride seems a little harsh. Humiliating, even. Dang, my mom's picking me up today!" I bite my nail in fear. Now what? My first day and I'm gonna be a geek without a rep like Phoebe's to protect me!  
  
"Well, you're okay if Piper picks you up. She's really popular here, everybody remembers her. You could call your mom and tell her that you wanna do homework at my place, if you want. My other sister, Prue, can help you with the new courses you're taking."  
  
"Oh, thanks," I gush gratefully. "You've saved my life!"  
  
"No prob." Phoebe pats me on the back, then we stop in front of a door labeled "Gymnasium" in blue writing. Several girls come running out, almost smacking the door in our face.  
  
"Hey, watch it!" Phoebe yells, holding up her fist. "Ugh, stupid sevvie preps," she mutters once their out of earshot. "Never hang with them. Anyways, this is the gym. I'll meet you here to take you to your next class. If you need me, I'll be in room 202, biology—right there across the hallway. Good luck!"  
  
"Thanks, Phoebe!"  
  
"Call me Pheebs, everyone else does," she laughs.  
  
"You mean 'Freebie,' right? You think you're gonna rub off you nasty attitude on this poor, impressionable sevvie? I don't think so." A blonde girl in a revealing pink tank and a flowered miniskirt comes up from the crowd and smiles at me. I can see right away that she's two faced and that all the other seventh and eighth graders behind her are her followers. "What's your name?" she asks me sweetly.  
  
"Pai—"  
  
Phoebe claps a hand over my mouth. "Don't speak to the highness," she mocks the girl. "She's too good for people like us."  
  
"Oh, you think you've already claimed this one? Nuh-uh. She's mine. All the cute girls with popularity potential go to ME, they shouldn't be wasted on a punk-rebel-wannabe like Freebie." She flips her hair, turning to me again and smiling. "Now, what was your name?"  
  
I look desperately up at Phoebe for a little support, but she's glaring at the intruder. I turn to the other sevvies behind her, but find that they look mind-controlled, wearing that same eerie smile as their leader.  
  
"My name is Paige Matthews," I stutter, "and PHOEBE is showing me around the school today. I am NOT property, got it? I am an independent human being and I refuse to choose between leaders. Now I have to go to gym. Good- BYE."  
  
All the followers look on in shock as I turn my back to them and proceed into the doors to gym. Now I just have to find the locker room, and...  
  
"Freebie," girl glares, "that one's mine."  
  
"She's no one's," Phoebe corrects. "She's herself, which I think is the best to be." 


	2. First Day Romance

Oopsy! Forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, sorry.  
  
DISCLAIMER: I'm fulfilling my strange and (cough cough) seemingly unnecessary duty by admitting that I don't own Charmed...yet.  
  
"Hey Paige!"  
  
I turn around. I just got out of the locker room, where, thank god, I found that the teacher had taken the liberty of getting me a gym uniform. It read "TACKATUM TIGERS" in bold, red letters with a yellow background. The shorts were dark, navy blue with a little Tackatum logo on them.  
  
"Hi Martin," I call, waving from across the gym. I run over to him to catch up. Part of our warm-up here, I guess, is to walk around the gym in the beginning of class. Not too bad for our social lives!  
  
"So, how're you liking the school so far? Any vicious beasts attack you yet? The front steps, maybe?"  
  
I blush. "Nah, just two possessive ninth graders that wanted me to be one of their slaves or something." I laugh nervously. "Do you know Phoebe Halliwell? She's my mentor. She's has this, like, enemy that wants me in her posse." I wrinkle my nose as I try to pull my hair back into a ponytail. "It SCARES me!"  
  
"Oh...was she blonde by any chance? Good teeth? Wearing pink?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh, dang...that's my cousin, Laura. Ignore her, she is SO annoying. Sorry she got to you."  
  
"Oh, no, that's fine!" I insist, red-hot in the cheeks. Now I'm embarrassed. She's his COUSIN? They couldn't be related, Martin's so laid back and nice. Weird...  
  
"Okay, class—jogging!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Martin laughs again. "You know—jogging."  
  
"I know what it means, but I thought we were supposed to walk—hey, wait up!" I call, grinning. He's sped up ahead of me as if challenging me to keep up. "Hey!" I follow him and before I know it, we're side by side. He looks shocked.  
  
"How'd you do that? I'm the fastest runner in this class!"  
  
I shrug, still running. "Not anymore, I guess!" I shout happily and speed up, leaving him gawking at my back. "What? You gonna stand there or run?"  
  
"I'm gonna get you!" he screams, throwing his head back in his obvious enjoyment and new rivalry.  
  
"Okay everyone, stop where you are! Roll call! Sara A.?"  
  
"Here!"  
  
"Martin?"  
  
"Physically but not mentally," he mutters. Everybody laughs—he's obviously the class clown as well as the best athlete. And he's perfect, too...  
  
"Oh, and we have a new student today!" the teacher exclaims with forced enthusiasm. "Her name is Paige Matthews, she's somewhere around here...ah, there you are. Alright everyone, say hello to your new classmate! I'm sure you'll all be seeing her in another one of your classes today, so show her around and help her if she needs it."  
  
The class murmurs a few greeting and I swear a few of the boys in the back started whistling. I blush again—this whole day is embarrassing! This new school is like a foreign country.  
  
"Sara N.?"  
  
"Yup!"  
  
A few more names are called. Finally, she comes to the end. "And, last but not least, Robert?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever, I'm here."  
  
"Alright-y then, class, do some random stretches then head on outside, we're doing football again. Normal team-up. Um, Paige, where do you...?"  
  
"She's on my team," Martin announced quickly before she made the decision. "We've got it all figured out."  
  
I sigh, grateful, and smile at him. He smiles back—it's like we've got this brilliant secret that no one else can ever know. He begins to stretch and I copy him, doing quads, triceps, biceps, neck, all that stuff.  
  
"Why the hell did you put HER on our team? She's a GIRL! Look at her—nice nails, perfect hair—there's no way she's good at football! What were you thinking, we're so gonna lose against Sam's team!"  
  
"Don't worry," Martin assures a bickering Robert, "she's totally a great runner. Did you see her in gym? She beat me running, she's tyte! She'll be great on the team, and she's cool, too. If you have a problem, you can go," he suggests with a slight joking air to his voice. Robert punches him playfully on the shoulder and Martin pretends to double over in pain. "You'll see," he says with warning.  
  
I grin despite myself when something hits me in the back of my head just outside the door to the field. "Ow!" I squeal, hitting my hands to the pavement to break my fall. Luckily all I end up with is scratched up palms and a skinned knee.  
  
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" A girl's voice cries from behind me. She gives me her hand to help me up. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going—hey you're the new girl, aren't you?"  
  
"Yeah." I wipe my hands on my shorts and smile weakly. "It's okay, I'm fine."  
  
"Phew, that's good. So, you're on our team, right? With Robert and Martin? We were forced to do coed, really. It's not my fault that we're—"  
  
Robert scoffs. "You know that you would still be on our team even if it wasn't coed, don't you? You are such a little tomboy." He ruffles her hair and she squeaks in protest. We all start laughing as she squirms.  
  
"They're cousins, super close," Martin explains. I giggle.  
  
"Alright, back to business," Robert interrupted when we stopped at our playing field. "Assuming you're as good as Martin says you are, you're playing on offense. I'll be quarterback, Sara, you serve. Martin, play offense with Paige—be ready to run down to our end of the field to catch, alright you two? Okay, um, break?" He shrugged. "Just remember—we're playing a good team today. Careful. We don't wanna screw this up."  
  
All I remember walking to Phoebe's biology class was how I won the game by scoring our winning goal right as the last whistle blew for us to go inside. I'm all smiles by the time I see Phoebe, leaning against the door and watching her friends go by.  
  
"Hey, Paige," she greets me. "Sorry for whatever happened earlier. Laura's a little...okay, a little 'something.' But that's alright. You're still coming over, right?"  
  
"Yeah, of course," I respond, still smiling.  
  
"Whoa, earth to Paige. Why are you so happy?"  
  
"Nothing," I lie, shifting my books upright so I don't let them fall in my giddiness. "PE was fun, that's all."  
  
"Right." She stares at me skeptically then chuckles. "Oh well—you've got a long day ahead of you."  
  
She was right. Seven periods here—what the heck was going on? At my old school we had four, but they'd change every day. And they were longer—much longer. It was confusing by seventh period.  
  
"Hey, can I use the phone?" I ask my science teacher at end of the period. She nods, not even bothering to look up from her desk. I honestly think that she doesn't even know that I'm new here. In fact, I don't think she knows anyone's name.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
I pick up the phone and dial our number.  
  
"Hello?" says my mother's voice on the other end. I can tell by the clattering of her keys in the background and her hasty footsteps that she's ready to get into the car. I sigh in relief that I caught her just in time.  
  
"Hey, mom, it's me, Paige. Is it okay if I go to Phoebe's house to do my homework? Her sister's gonna help me catch up with the work. Can I stay for dinner, too?"  
  
"Oh of course, honey. I'm so glad you're making new friends. I'll pick you up around eight—I got a directory today, I'll find Halliwell under the listings to get their address. Have fun, sweetie!"  
  
"Thanks mom."  
  
I hang up the phone and practically jump at the sound of the bell ringing in my ears. My science teacher smirks—something tells me that she's more aware than she pretends to be. I grin once I turn around—when somebody grabs my shoulder outside the classroom.  
  
"Hey Paige," Sara exclaims. "How's the first day?"  
  
"Great. It's so confusing here, though...oh, well," I laugh. "I'll get used it eventually."  
  
She giggles, then her face turns chalk white when she looks behind me. "Um—I gotta go now, my mom told me not to be late walking home...erm, good luck."  
  
"With what?"  
  
"Bye!" she yells over her shoulder, frantically rushing towards the nearest exit without even fully zipping up her backpack.  
  
I shrug and look behind me. "Hi Phoebe," I greet her. I see that she has a scowl on her face. "What's wrong? Did Laura come again?"  
  
"Nah," she laughs half-heartedly, shaking off the frown. "It's just...well, is that girl your friend?" I nod. Phoebe sighs. "She's one of the sevvies that's totally scared of me, like I have some punk disease. It's all Laura's fault. When all the sevvies got here this year, she spread the word that I was a bully that got people into trouble. Luckily she didn't get to you first," she adds, grinning. "So, did you call your mom?"  
  
"Yeah, she said I could come. Where will Piper pick us up?"  
  
Her grin widens—almost eerily.  
  
"C'mon, I'll show you," she says excitedly, taking me by the hand.  
  
"Where are we going?" I stutter as she drags me quickly through the crowd. "What—"  
  
"We're going into the forest." 


	3. EEEK!

Disclaimer: Me no own...yet...  
  
Phoebe runs recklessly through the tangles of bushes, crunching the twigs beneath her feet as she goes along. I struggle to match her pace, panting and sweating. How far are we going into this mess of trees? Why the heck would Piper drive her car all the way out here?  
  
"Wait up!" I call, my lungs tearing for air. My shoelaces are coming untied and I trip, falling flat on my face. I spit out the dirt.  
  
"We're here," says Phoebe as a-matter-of-factly.  
  
I look up, realizing that that dirt in my mouth may have been a blessing—I landed literally an inch away from the hard, cement sidewalk. Phoebe offers me her hand and I gratefully accept it, standing up and brushing the dirt off of my pants. "Ow," I groan.  
  
"You should thank me, I just spared you of your first kiss & ride humiliation fest. Ah, here's Piper. PIPER, OVER HERE! WE BEAT YOU!"  
  
I survey the area—we're at a high school! The building is gigantic, and there are students swarming around the grounds everywhere. It's fascinating, and I know right away that this is where I'll go in two or three years.  
  
"Move it, mud face," some boy on a skateboard taunts me as he rolls past, full of himself. I see him wink at a girl a couple feet away, but she twists up her face in disgust. I grin, and she laughs when she catches sight of my expression.  
  
"Egotistic freak," she giggles. "Never go near them."  
  
By now, Piper's pulled up. "How'd you beat me?" she demanded when Phoebe opened up the door. "Not fair! Hey Paige–nice to see you again. Are you coming home with us? It's about time Phoebe brought home someone decent. Buckle up, I like going fast!"  
  
Now that I'm closer to Piper, I snatch a glance at her face through the rearview mirror. She looks just like Phoebe. She looks just like...me. After a while she seemed to notice it too, but didn't say anything, just stared at me during stoplights.  
  
"Here we are," she announces. We've pulled up to a large manor with old windows and construction. It's a beautiful old house, one that you wouldn't expect to see here in San Francisco. "The door's unlocked, you two go ahead. I have to clean out the car before Grams sees it."  
  
"Oooh, Piper forgot to get her stuff from her last date out of the trunk!" Phoebe teased.  
  
'Aw, c'mon Piper, was dating Sean worth it?' I almost say, but keep in my head. Where did that come from? I don't even know a Sean, and I've never met Piper before now. It was almost like we knew each other—only she didn't know me.  
  
"Yo, Paige—c'mon, what are you waiting for? Homework's a-calling."  
  
"R-right."  
  
"What's up with you, sleepyhead?" Phoebe asks, opening the door to the house. "You look as if you've seen a ghost!" I shake my head for no. "Okay, then, do you want to go upstairs? I got this séance thing for my birthday, it's supposed to tell the deepest, darkest secret ever kept from you." She laughed. "Not that it'll work, but still...why not?"  
  
"Sure," I agree. Anything to keep my mind off of what just happened inside my brain...  
  
Before I know it, she's set up candles on her bedroom floor. "We do it both at the same time. Apparently a 'silver light' will 'appear out of nowhere' in front of us revealing the 'secret' in either sight or sound. Wonder what that means? Oh well, it won't work, it's for fun. Anyways, you sit here in the triquetra and I'll sit here. Ready?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
"Okay." Phoebe takes a deep breath and starts to recite something that sounds more like gibberish than understandable language. "Now, close your eyes..."  
  
This is crazy, Phoebe's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about Piper...in my frustration I open my eyes—then gasp. I want to scream but something in my voice box is choking it back. Phoebe's opened her eyes to see one, too...  
  
There are two identical silver beams of light hovering in front of both of us. We look at each other in shock, unable to utter a single sound. Before we can fully react, the two beams merge together, making the entire room burst with the shining light. I gasp as a scene unfolds before our eyes.  
  
"I don't want to let go of the baby," a brown haired woman cried.  
  
A man by her side gently pried the baby from her arms. "We can't put her in danger. Besides, Prue and Piper and Phoebe have already created the Power of Three. Someday we'll find her again, I promise. But for now...we leave her."  
  
"She'll never remember us, never trust us when she's all grown up. How do you expect her to believe in the Craft after leaving her with adoptive parents after eighteen years?"  
  
"We won't worry about that now."  
  
The woman sighed, taking the baby back and kissing her forehead. "The note I left...gave her real name. I don't want it to change. If she knows that she's Paige Matthews and that her parents' names are Patty and Sam, then maybe it'll be easier for her to accept that she's a witch."  
  
"How will we tell the girls?"  
  
"We'll never tell them," the woman snapped, "at least not until it's time. Victor may not be my husband but he's still their father. If they ever find out about Paige, they'll know you're her father...and that I met another man."  
  
The woman muffled a sob, and placed the baby on the step. "This is the beginning of a new life for you, little Paige. May we meet again someday."  
  
Before we finish the scene, the door bursts open. "Phoebe!" An older woman shrieks. "What are you doing?!"  
  
The scene fades and I shiver. This woman is vaguely familiar, but I don't know where from. Maybe...  
  
Wait—what in the hell just happened? We sit in silence, though the older woman stand with lips pursed at the doorway. That...was Patty Halliwell and Sam Matthews. My parents...that baby is—was?—me. They talked about—witchcraft? Piper? Prue? Phoebe? Those names...are Phoebe's and her sisters...who all look eerily just like me.  
  
How the heck did we even see all that crap?  
  
"Grams..." Phoebe stutters. "Uh, the séance...Paige, are you okay?"  
  
I quickly make a beeline for my school things and rush to the door. "Sorry, I have to go," I lie in my haste, "uh, my mom has this super dorky meeting and I'm supposed to cook dinner. Bye, see ya tomorrow!"  
  
"Wait!"  
  
I turn to see the older woman, hands on her hips, staring desperately at me from the stairway. "Wait, I need to talk to you. What did you see?"  
  
"Why do YOU wanna know?" Phoebe demands.  
  
"Shush, Phoebe. I have to know because this is very important...your name is Paige, right honey? Paige Matthews?"  
  
"Yeah." I slowly let go of my backpack and let it slide to the floor. "How'd you know my name?"  
  
"Oh, dear," she frets. "We have a bit of a problem. You just saw...Patty and Samuel, didn't you? Come here, come with me. There are a lot of things I need to tell you about before something could happen that will separate you all again. Phoebe, get your sisters and meet me in the attic."  
  
"Alright-y, then." Phoebe smirks, then hollers and the top of her lungs, "PRUE! PIPER! GET YOUR BUTTS INTO THE ATTIC, NOW!"  
  
Grams gives her the eye. "That was really unnecessary, you know."  
  
Now—where have I heard that voice before?  
  
a/n Sorry this chapter is so short, I've gotten a bit busy 


	4. Car Wreck

"Is everyone here?" Grams asks, shutting the door to the attic.  
  
"Yeah," says Prue. "This place is amazing. How come we're never allowed in here until now? What're all those vials filled with? And, while we're asking questions that'll never be answered, how come I can't go to college for photography?"  
  
"Prudence," Grams snaps, "stop your nonsense. I told you no and I meant it. Besides, we have important matters to discuss." She clears her throat. "I know it was hard for you...when your mother died, but there are a few things I have to tell you. Prudence, don't try to leave."  
  
Prue reluctantly sits down.  
  
"Are we in trouble?" Phoebe asks.  
  
"No, but the next time you do something like that in your room I'd like to be informed. Phoebe, I see that your little mentoring program is more fate than chance. You see, Phoebe, you, Paige, and your sisters have more of a connection than you may think. Patty—your mother—met another man when she broke up with your father. His name was Sam."  
  
"My parents!" I gasp.  
  
"Yes, your parents. Your mother got pregnant with a fourth child, Paige Matthews Halliwell. She...had to give you up for certain reasons."  
  
"And what may those reasons be?" I demand, raging. Phoebe's sisters—MY sisters—are staring at me incredulously, but I don't care. "Why didn't she want me? What made me different from them?"  
  
Grams sighs, "This is all very complicated," and shakes her head, sitting down on the nearest chair. "Do you really want to know why you're not allowed in here? Why Paige is your sister, why she was adopted? Why Prudence can't go to college? What these vials are?"  
  
Everybody says "Yes!" in unison.  
  
"Alright, this is a little unbelievable, but hear me out. No interruptions." She gives Phoebe a knowing glare. "You're all...witches. With supernatural powers. We—your mother and I—bound your powers, except for Paige's, before she died. She was really killed by a demon, the bad villains that try to kill witches. Witches only do good, or whatever they can to protect the innocent. A prophecy foretold that Patty was to give birth to the three Charmed Ones, or, in this case, Prudence, Piper, and Phoebe. But the prophecy was broken," she says darkly. "Paige was born, creating a fourth sister—and she was twice blessed, half whitelighter, half witch. Whitelighters protect witches from harm; that's what Sam was to Patty. But he failed..."  
  
My eyes well up with tears. "So...she didn't want me?"  
  
"That's beside the point, didn't you hear what she just said?!" Piper screams. "We're all witches—with magic and demons and whitelighters! This can't be happening..."  
  
I shake my head. "Look, I really have to leave. I know my way home from here...G'bye."  
  
With that, I grab my backpack and sprint out the front door, not even bothering to close the door behind me. These people are nuts. All I can think about is how she—my own mother—didn't want me. Just because I was different, just because I wasn't in the prophecy, she left me.  
  
It's a long run, but I run the entire six miles. Anything to get away from there—I took shortcuts, alleyways, ran through the forest again, and made it home just before me mom left to pick me up.  
  
"Honey, what's wrong? I thought you were at Phoebe's! Are you alright?"  
  
"No," I whisper, "no, I'm not. I just found out some things...that I don't think I should've ever known."  
  
"What happened? Is there anything I can do?"  
  
"No, mom," I choke. "I'm sorry, I just need to go and sort some things out right now, okay?"  
  
I run up to my room and throw myself onto the pillows. She didn't want me. My own mother didn't want me, so she kept my sisters and cast me away before she ever got to know me. The names "Patty" and "Sam" feel like poison on my tongue. They deserted me! How could I forgive them?  
  
And all that talk about magic! Did that weird woman really expect ME to believe that? I know that there's no such thing as magic, I'm not stupid. Besides, I'd know if I had magic powers, right? If I really was a witch, I could've cursed Laura and her gang into oblivion or made Martin my boyfriend...no such luck. There's no such thing as magic.  
  
Satisfied with my conclusion, I recompose myself and sit up in bed. I wipe the tears away from my eyes. Magic isn't real, and my mom is at downstairs and my dad is at work. They aren't witches or whitelighters. They're all normal human beings, like me.  
  
Once I check the mirror to make sure I look okay, I walk slowly down the stairs. I smell burning dinner and grin. My dad's home and he just ruined the pot roast again.  
  
"Aw, dang it," he mutters, turning off the oven and blowing the smoke from the pot roast away from his face. I giggle seeing his flapping arms.  
  
"Hey honey," he greets me, coughing. "How was your first day of school? Did you make any new friends?"  
  
"Yeah, um, the neighbor kid. Have you met him? His name's Martin. And I have these other friends named Robert and Sara and Phoebe." Yes, that was right. Phoebe was only a friend—not a sister. I shudder but my father doesn't see.  
  
"That's wonderful, Paige. Um...Karen?" calls my dad. "Maybe we should go out for dinner tonight instead."  
  
My mom rolls her eyes when she walks in. "Not again, Brian. This is the third time this week! We're all going to get fat off of fast food from McDonald's!"  
  
"I guess that's the price you pay for marrying him, mom," I laugh, heading out to the car. "The keys are still on the bench outside, you know!"  
  
"Oops!" my mom exclaims, grabbing them. My father follows her.  
  
"I may burn dinner, but at least I don't lose the keys three times a day," he jokes.  
  
My mother slaps him playfully, hopping into the front passenger seat. "Just start the car already. Where should we go tonight? Gag in the Bag?" (my mom's word for Jack in the Box) "Fatty King?" (Burger King) "YickDonalds?" (McDonald's).  
  
"How about Wendy's?" I suggest. "We haven't been there for a while."  
  
"Wendy's it is," my dad agrees, starting the car. We live kind of close to Wendy's, so getting there isn't much of a problem. Besides, I love their chicken—my dad does, too! Genetics? No, wait—I'm adopted. But that still doesn't mean that my birth parents are a whitelighter and a witch!  
  
I find myself lost in thought about the day's events. I went to school today expecting some hurdles naturally, but this? My mentor is nuts and her family is nuttier. Worst of all, they think I'M a part of it! Ha! How insane for them to suggest such an unrealistic—  
  
The tires screech like bloody hell. My mom shrieks.  
  
"Damn it!" my father yells.  
  
I realize that we're just about to hit a truck head-on in the middle of the intersection. Everything's in slow motion. I'm going to die, I think to myself. Today is the day that I'm going to die.  
  
I feel dizzy, lightheaded. Something's pulling me away, beckoning me. It's filled with blue light. Are we dead yet?  
  
I scream.  
  
SMASH!  
  
Somehow, though, when I woke up, I wasn't in the car. I was twenty feet away from the wreck of the car, safely on the sidewalk, but unconscious. How I got out, I'll never know, but I didn't wake up for a while.  
  
TBC 


	5. What happened?

"Paige, Paige!"  
  
I groan. My head is spinning. Am I dead yet? What's happened? One minute I was in a car with screeching tires headed for a gigantic truck, and now...I'm on the...sidewalk? Who's calling my name?  
  
"Paige, wake up!"  
  
I try to focus in on the face looming in front of me, but the sun's too bright to see. "What...?" I manage to croak.  
  
"You were ejected from the car, Paige. The medics are on the way."  
  
"Huh?" Finally, the world is focused. The face hovering over me...is Martin? "What just happened?" I moan, sitting up and rubbing my head.  
  
"You're okay!" he exclaims. I can see that he was skateboarding past. He has on his helmet and knee pads, and I can see his skateboard sitting by us unoccupied. "Oh my god, your car's over there, Paige. You were ejected at least twenty feet away when the truck hit you...it's a miracle you're alive. Your parents..."  
  
"Are they okay?" I exclaim.  
  
He shakes his head. "I...don't know. It's pretty bad. Look," he says, pointing towards the wreck.  
  
All I can see that's left of our car is a few chunks of burning metal scraped along the street. I don't see my parents anywhere...but they can't be inside that car, they can't be! The window's smashed and the flames flicker so I can't see in, but I know that no one could survive a wreck like that. They must be dead...so how did I survive? The blue lights—was that it?  
  
"I'm so sorry, Paige," he whispers, his head hung low.  
  
"No..." I murmur. I can hear the sirens in the distance and I know that they're coming for us. If they find me, they'll take me away. I'll never see Phoebe...or MY sisters...again. I can't let that happen. "Martin, I'm fine," I assure him, getting up. "I don't know what happened, but I have to go. It's important that they don't find me, you have to understand...getting away from those people right now is all that can save me from being taken away."  
  
He nods, not quite understanding. "So...should I just...pretend that I never saw you? They'd think that...you died in the fire. Is that what I should do?"  
  
"That would be great. Thank you so much Martin, this means the world to me. I have to go...before they find me."  
  
"Be careful, Paige," he manages, watching me run into the nearest street alley.  
  
It rips my heart out to leave him there in that awkward position, having to lie for me. But I know it's for the best. It's the only ways I can find out the truth about my past and my...  
  
Sisters.  
  
The alley is dark and dank with putrid smell leaking from the dumpster. I close my eyes and try to think. The sirens are getting closer, I'd better come up with a plan soon. Think, think, think...  
  
A hand grabs me from behind with the same smell as the dumpster a few feet away. I shriek and wriggle out of his grasp, turning to face a disheveled man with graying hair. Something about him seems...No, this man is dangerous, I know I need to get away. I scream again, louder this time, hoping that someone will hear. Curse this man! He's blowing my cover!  
  
"Please stop," he begs, "before someone hears..."  
  
He takes my hand and I kick him in the stomach as hard as I can. I need to get away, but he's cornered me in the alley shadows. There's no way out!  
  
Then the blue lights engulf me again, that same sucking feeling from before. I'm leaving, and this time I can't help but grin. I know where I'm headed. Halliwell Manor, here I come.  
  
"Wait, Paige—"  
  
That's all I could hear before the lights carried me away to another place.  
  
"AAAAAA!" A voice screams. "OH MY GOD, GRAAAAAAAMS!"  
  
"Stop it, stop it," I shout, covering my ears. I'm in the kitchen and with a very surprised Prue, who decides that the best reaction to my sudden appearance is to make as much ear-splitting noise as possible. "PRUE, DAMMIT, SHUT THE HELL UP!!!"  
  
"P-P-Paige?" she whimpers. "H-H-How'd you d-do that?"  
  
"Don't ask me, all I know is that it just saved me from certain death," I snap at her. I have this sudden urge to slap her. SHE thinks that SHE'S confused? I just survived a car accident with magic, forced my crush to lie about my death, and nearly got abducted by a complete stranger. I win. "Prudence, what's wrong?" Grams asks, strutting down the stairs urgently. She immediately sees me and grins, eyebrow cocked up. "So, Paige, you came back. By magic, I presume by the way Prudence just yelled?"  
  
"I...really don't know. Honestly, I'm lost here. I was with my parents in the car, and the truck...hit the car, but I was...there was blue light, I got out, and I saw this boy I know...he promised not to tell them that I was alive, he covered for me and I escaped...then the alleyway, and this strange man, and...now I'm here." I realize that there are wet, frustrated tears running down my cheeks. "They're dead," I finish helplessly.  
  
A concerned look flashes across the old woman's face. "It'll be okay, Paige," she promises me. "You can stay here while everything gets sorted out, alright? We have a spare bedroom upstairs, Phoebe will show you..."  
  
That's when I see the Piper and Phoebe were at the doorway, listening to me sob out the entire story. I duck my head down in embarrassment. This must be a nightmare, I know it in my heart...I'll wake up, I won't be in San Francisco, there won't be any Phoebe, Piper, Prue, Grams, Martin, Robert or Sara...just me, my mom and dad, and little knowledge of my past.  
  
That's the way it should be—right?  
  
"After you get some rest you can explain it all to us in the morning," Grams soothes.  
  
I yawn. Boy, am I sleepy. All the flashing blue lights took away all my energy, and now all I want to do is lay down in blissful sleep. Then in the morning I'll wake up and it'll all be a terrible dream. Taylor will walk me to school and seven o'clock, like usual, and at lunch we'll share our chips, and...  
  
In my lost trail of thought, I don't even realize that I'm upstairs and in bed until Grams turns out the light.  
  
/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/- /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/  
  
'Is that what I should...stop, before someone...spare bedroom...in the morning...' All of the voices drift around in my head. But who had said them? Where was I when they said it? I am aware that there are three of them, and for some reason they're important, like something big just happened. But what?  
  
I shoot up in bed, only to find that I'm still in the guest room at the Halliwell Manor. For some reason, I'm not surprised to be here. In the back of my mind, I know I've been in this place before, when I was really little. But why am I here now?  
  
Oh, yeah. The accident.  
  
"Phoebe, you're late!" somebody whispers harshly near my door. I can tell it's Piper by the way she's tapping her foot impatiently on the hardwood floor. "I'm leaving without you..."  
  
"Lemme just go check on Paige."  
  
Instantly I drop back down under the covers and close my eyes, pretending to be fast asleep still. I'm not ready to face people just yet, at least not them. There's so much I still have to know. Like...why? Why is this happening to ME? I was normal. I've always been normal. I'm just normal old...Paige Matthews. There's nothing to it.  
  
"Still asleep," Phoebe reported back to Piper. "Poor kid..."  
  
I sigh in relief as their footsteps fade away down the stairs and out the door.  
  
"Do you want to talk?"  
  
Prue and Grams shut the door behind them, and I know that there's no escape now.  
  
"Sure," I say tentatively, "what about?"  
  
"We just want to know what happened, so we can sort everything out," Grams explained. "And, seeing that you've...got nowhere to go, we could find a way to take you in for a little while."  
  
"Thanks," I mumble. "Well, my foster parents and I were going out for dinner. We were on just a normal, everyday street, and this truck, a huge, gigantic truck, came out of nowhere. It was about to hit us and all I can remember thinking was 'I'm gonna die, this is it, it'll hit us and we'll all die.' I wanted more than anything to escape...when these blue lights surrounded me."  
  
"Like the ones that got you here in the first place?" asks Prue.  
  
I nod. "Who...saved me? How did I live when my parents died? The car was just flaming scrap metal when I left it..."  
  
"You saved yourself. Your father was a whitelighter, a witch protector, as I said earlier. You inherited some of his powers, including...orbing. That's what you did—it's means of transportation for whitelighters." Grams sighs. "This wasn't meant to happen...Paige, I'm so sorry about your foster parents. But what happened next? How'd you get here?"  
  
I swallow. "I woke up on the sidewalk, and this boy I know, Martin, was there. He said he'd cover for me, tell the police that I was...dead. Presumably, that is, if I didn't come out of the car. Nobody saw me 'orb,' though...except for...the man."  
  
"What man?"  
  
"Well, I ran into the alleyway, and a man grabbed me. He knew my name, told me to stop screaming and come with him...when I 'orbed' again. I didn't mean for him to see me," I add quickly, "it was an accident."  
  
"It's okay," Grams tells me. But I can see by the worried look on her face that something else is bugging her. "I think I know who this man is...and whether he's dangerous or not, I wouldn't know."  
  
A/N—Sorry it took so long to update! I've been doing other fics and finals and...yeah. But hey, it's almost the end of the school year for me! Two more day—woo hoo! (starts dancing on keyboard singing)  
  
R&R, pretty please?? I like reviews!! 


	6. Whitelighter Frenzy

"Who was it?" I ask. "Who was the man?"  
  
"Um, Paige, I can't...remember his name," she lies quickly. "That's it, yes; I can't remember his name."  
  
There's an eerie silence for a good ten seconds. Prue is the first to speak. "Hey, did you say it was a kid named Martin? Was his last name Carraba?"  
  
I wrinkle up my face, trying to remember. "Yeah...yeah, I think so. Why? Do you know him?"  
  
"Sure I do! His older sister is one of my best friends...but she's in COLLEGE now." Prue stresses the word "college," glaring at Grams.  
  
Grams pretends not to notice and turns to me again. "Paige, I'll get this all settled. In the meantime, why don't you...um...try to find Martin's house? It'd be nice if we could find him, bring him here. Since he dealt with the medics, he'd tell us what he told them. That way we could twist a cover story for your survival."  
  
I sigh. But I know that it would be better for me to go find him, and Grams knows it too; just to keep my mind off things. But wait—there's school today, that's where Phoebe and Piper were going, right?  
  
"School was cancelled, there was a thunderstorm last night and the school's power went out," Grams explains, reading my mind. "Phoebe and Piper were headed to the library to work on a project, Andy drove them."  
  
"My boyfriend," Prue adds possessively.  
  
Grams scoffs. "Yes, your boyfriend. Anyways, I'd expect your little friend to be home. Do you know where he lives?"  
  
"Right across the street from my house, I can get there in a flash."  
  
"As long as it's not an orb, alright?" Grams gives me a knowing smile. "The girls have bikes and helmets in the garage, so you'd best be on your way if you want to get the information before they find out you're alive."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
I walk down the stairs and naturally find the garage door. It's as if I know the manor inside out, even though I can never remember being inside of it. I'm almost in a trance, like a robot programmed to just move and not think about it.  
  
And that's the way it is the entire three mile bike ride. I'm vaguely aware of the wind lapping my face and pulling back my hair, my legs willing the pedals to move quickly, my eyes darting back and forth around the street, but I'm not really thinking until I park the bike, laying it next to a streetlamp outside Martin's house.  
  
I look back at the home that I'd only lived in for three days, then look away. I'm on a mission. I'm a robot. That I cannot forget.  
  
After about a minute of inadvertent nail biting, hair twirling, and knuckle cracking, I muster up the courage to ring the doorbell.  
  
DING, DONG!  
  
The door clicks open and none other than Laura herself stands, staring back at me. She's gawking at my face and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe she's not so perfect after all.  
  
"You're supposed to be DEAD!" she shrieks. "OH MY GOD!"  
  
"Laura, what the hell are you screaming about?" asks Martin, coming to the door. He sees me and his face turns pale. "Laura, can you keep a secret?"  
  
She nods distantly.  
  
"Alright then, Paige...come inside."  
  
He quickly shut the door behind.  
  
"Are you alright? What HAPPENED? Why did you just make off like that? Paige, I heard you screaming in the alley, I tried to follow you, there was a man—he was grabbing at you and you just went POOF. But I'm glad you got away, but still, you scared me! Where have you been?"  
  
"The Halliwells—" Laura scoffs, but I continue— "and I'm fine...thank you for caring about me. I had to make off the way I did, I couldn't let them...I had to...okay you guys, I have another secret. This one won't make much sense, but please," I beg, "trust me."  
  
"I do."  
  
"Me too," Laura adds quickly.  
  
It's odd, seeing Laura in this environment. She's not popular, not self- obsessed. She's...normal. Like me, like Martin. I guess that she changed herself in public to fit in, and I can understand how she feels. I like this Laura so much better, though.  
  
And with that, it all spills. The twinning with Phoebe, the séance, the discoveries, the magic, the witchcraft...then the accident, how I escaped, and the man that tried to capture me. I can feel a single tear run down my cheek but I quickly brush it away, entranced by their patient gazes.  
  
Finally, I finish. "What did you tell the cops?" I ask.  
  
To my surprise, Martin grins. "WE said nothing. Laura was there, too, and we just pretended to be normal bystanders, shocked by the chaos. Well," he says mysteriously, the smile widening, "the truth is, we're not ordinary kids. We've gone through five years of training...and I think, Laura, that we've just found our first charge."  
  
"What? What's a charge?"  
  
Martin just keeps grinning. "You know that you're half-whitelighter, right? Because of Sam?"  
  
I nod.  
  
"And you know what whitelighters are, right?"  
  
My stomach gives a nasty twist. Are they...? No. They can't be. "They're witch protectors, brought back from the dead," I say automatically. "Like my father."  
  
"Yes. Paige, Laura and I have been dead now for five years. We both died in a plane crash a while back, so we were both starting to train at the same time and became friends. We're...whitelighters. They told us when we came down to earth that our charge's identity would not matter, that we would be drawn to him or her until they needed us." Martin sighs. "Well, you need us now."  
  
My assumptions are correct, and now I wonder: Did he mean to flirt with me? Does he still consider me his friend?  
  
I guess, by the look on my face, he read my mind. "Paige, I still think you're one of my best friends," he assures me. "That's not against the rules...I think."  
  
"It is too against the rules!" Laura cried indignantly. Then her voice softened. "But I won't tell...I love secret romance..."  
  
Martin scoffs. "Yeah, that's what she was reading about before we crashed. What was that book called? Oh well. It was a flight headed to California, actually; we crashed in a forest. But everyone was dead before we hit, so we didn't feel anything," he adds quickly.  
  
"Wow...I didn't think you guys, of all people, would be...you know, whitelighters. But that's cool!" I decide, clapping my hands together.  
  
"Yeah, it is," they agreed.  
  
"Well, it's good to stop acting like a bitch now," Laura laughs. "And now we don't have to be all secretive with you about our identities."  
  
"Yeah, no more secrets! I was always horrible at keeping secrets, even when I was alive," he admits, laughing.  
  
The phone rings.  
  
"Huh? Who could that be?" Martin wonders. "We live here with another adult whitelighter, Brian, and usually no one calls. That's odd."  
  
"Oh, it's Grams," I say automatically. "Wait...how'd I know that?"  
  
"Your powers," Laura explains, "now go get the phone before she hangs up."  
  
"Wait—should I tell her about you guys?"  
  
All of a sudden, the two of them exchange glances and start communicating in this clickety-clack language with their tongues. They seem to be deep in thought on their decision and I watch in fascination. How could anyone make sense of that? After they talked for five seconds or so, though, I felt myself catching phrases.  
  
'Should...tell?" I hear Martin clicking.  
  
"Hm...too soon...the girls...don't think so."  
  
"Okay, later...when...and bindings are released."  
  
"What bindings?" I ask Martin.  
  
"You could hear that? Dang, I forgot. You're half-whitelighter. Woops."  
  
I shrug and pick up the phone. "Hello?"  
  
"Hi, Paige? It's—"  
  
"Grams, I know. Look, he didn't say anything to them, just pretended that he was just skateboarding and saw it happen. They think I'm dead."  
  
"Good," she says in relief. "Then I think I can make a cover story. Come home soon, alright?"  
  
"Sure, but what's your pl—"  
  
She hangs up.  
  
"Gee, thanks," I mutter. I turn back to Laura and Martin. "I think that Grams has a plan, but I'm not sure what. She didn't explain, but she said to come home. See you guys later?"  
  
"Sure," says Laura. "Just remember...I'm still prissy-pink popular girl at school, so while you're there, just act like nothing's changed so people don't get suspicious. You know what? It's funny, I was just like one of those followers of mine when I was alive—now I'm the ringleader. Things change when you die and come back to earth five years later, huh?"  
  
I laugh. "Bye."  
  
"See ya Paige," Martin clicks at me.  
  
When he does that, I realize: their language is all in the rhythm of the words. It's so simple! Why didn't I see that?  
  
"Yeah, see ya," I click back.  
  
We all burst into fits of giggles before I close the door.  
  
Once I'm on the bike, I realize that I feel a lot better. I have people to talk to about magic now. I mean, sure, I can talk to Grams, but she's not my age—and Phoebe and her sisters didn't know anything about powers. I wonder; why is that? How come I'M the only one with the magic?  
  
And then I remember Grams saying their powers were bound. That must be what Laura and Martin were clicking about when he said "bindings are released."  
  
What's that supposed to mean?  
  
All of a sudden, my bike lurches on the sidewalk and topples over. I land in the soft grass and hear my tires deflating and groan.  
  
I get back up, rubbing my palms on my jeans. "Darn it," I murmur angrily as all the air escapes. There was a nail on the sidewalk that I ran over, so that's probably what did it.  
  
"There you are!"  
  
I turn around and the first thing I notice is his eyes. Not that they're special—it's just that half of me wants to welcome him and the other half wants to be very, very afraid...  
  
And that, I discover when I recognize him, would probably be because he's the man from the alleyway.  
  
I cry out, "You get away from me!" and desperately try to lift my bike and get away.  
  
Too late. He covered his hand over my mouth, and once again I try to orb away from him to safety.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you..." I hear before the blue lights engulf me once more.  
  
Only this time, I wasn't the one that conjured the blue lights. ' R&R PLZ!! 


End file.
